5 Things You Didn't Know About Frank Sinatra

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Frank Sinatra once said, with his customary brand of elegant cadence: "You gotta love livin' baby, cause dyin's a pain." Ol' Blue Eyes didn't disregard his own advice. On top of being one of the biggest singing stars of the last century, Sinatra led a furious lifestyle, consorting and carousing on a daily basis with presidents, starlets, mob bosses, and big-name athletes.

But though Frank loved livin', he wasn't too keen on tellin'. Sinatra was violently secretive of his exploits. He would often threaten journalists with physical harm if they wrote a word about his personal life, and was notoriously reluctant to grant interviews.

It's no surprise then that some of the best Sinatra anecdotes have flown under the radar. For example, his on-and-off affair with Marilyn Monroe was kept on the down low, and it's typically only his hardcore fans are aware that he was inspired to sing after hearing Bing Crosby, his future rival, on the radio.

Here are five other fact you might not have known about the "Chairman of the Board."

1- Sinatra refused McCartney's songwriting

In 1966, fresh off churning out perhaps the Beatles' most accomplished album, Revolver, Paul McCartney's songwriting powers were at their peak. Paul, never one to underestimate his considerable abilities, deigned to stretch beyond his usual pallet of rock screamers and dreamy ballads to write a swingin' song specifically for Frank Sinatra.

Flush with success, he dashed off a tune called "Suicide," reeled off a demo tape and sent it to Sinatra's managers. Sinatra, who had once called rock and roll "music for cretins and goons," took one listen to the track and, thinking it was a joke, passed.

In later years, his judgment no longer clouded by the pot and acid-speckled haze of the '60s, McCartney admitted that the song was likely "crap" and that Sinatra was wise to pass. Sinatra would go on to cover a Beatles song in concert, and, perhaps still a bit apologetic for not recording "Suicide," offered Macca undeserved credit, calling the George Harrison-penned "Something" a "Lennon-McCartney classic."